Blogs from Georgia, Asia - page 4

Turkey 29th June 2014 "I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference" Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken “You who are on the road, must have a code that you can live by” Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young I had decided to try hitch-hiking from Kars to Tblisi. It just seemed a nice way to travel, to meet some locals along the way, and avoid being cooped up in a bus (not to mention saving myself around 30 euros on fares). It's early still on a Sunday morning (about 7.30 am) and after walking out of town and waiting for about 30 minutes I begin to wonder if I have been wise as there is hardly any traffic at all. I then get my first ride to the highway interchange ... read more

Akhaltsikhe, Georgia June 29th 2014 Note: Publication of the 'Down, but not Out' series of blogs was purposefully delayed until the saga was over.... for reasons that will become apparent. The preparation of the blogs meanwhile was a blessed distraction from the stress of the whole affair. You go to the city to see the law. Upon arrival outside the building, there is a guard who says “You may not pass without permission”, you notice that the door is open, but closed enough for you to not see anything (the law). You point out that you can easily go into the building, and the guard agrees. Rather than be disagreeable, however, you decide to wait until you have permission.You wait for many years, and when you're an old, shriveled wreck, you get yourself to ask: “During ... read more

We rolled up the green valley out of Akhaltsikhe and gently back into the steppe. As we climbed, we began to get the sense that we were already in Armenia. Most of the towns in the Javakheti region are inhabited by Armenians and this becomes more so the case as one nears the border post at Bavra. In contrast to the Georgians we met in our first days across the border, the Armenians we were meeting showed a mastery of the Russian language and it was a delight to chat with a dialect that we could largely understand. As we interacted with person after friendly person we began to "warm up" in the language and the wide vocabulary of our counterparts allowed them to get points across to us when we could not initially understand. We ... read more

Tbilisi Yesterday we left Turkey and entered Georgia. We are now oficially in Asia, but Tbilisi has had a lot of American influence. It sure seems a lot more like the US or Europe than most of the last week or so of the trip. I have ridden more than 4000 miles in the last two plus weeks. By the time we get to Baku later this week, we will be more than half way to Xian, but have spent only one third of the time. We travel more slowly and stop for more attractions along the way. Driving in Georgia is a little strange, even compared to Turkey. There appear to be no rules and no speed limits on the two lane roads, with some wild passing and high speeds. The traffic flow on the ... read more

The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries AD and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Tu...more history